2005 Nissan Frontier - Irregular Cab

Deflecting The Expected

Building a unique custom truck these days isn't exactly easy. With the amount of aftermarket parts ready to ship, buying bolt-on accessories is all too easy, and standing apart from the crowd becomes understandably difficult.

Ron Perkins from Portland, Oregon, didn't want to spend his precious time and hard-earned money on a truck that would get lost in the shuffle at shows. He selected a base-model King Cab 2005 Nissan Frontier to serve as the core of his project, but first he planned to hack it up a bit. These trucks aren't customized too often, especially to the extent that Ron pushed his. Of course, there are many off-the-shelf products that have been incorporated into the Frontier's restyling, but the crazy, one-off mods that have been performed certainly make this mini impossible to forget.

Ron has been tweaking his truck since mid 2004, and believe it or not it was rocking a sick orange paintjob before it was taken down and covered with much cooler tones and sinfully executed licks. Since then, a lot has changed for the better, but as anyone can imagine the road to completion isn't always easy. An overheating problem arose during the build, so the entire stock-floor, 'bagged frame and drivetrain had to be completely removed. Doesn't sound too terrible, but once something like that becomes your problem, the small headache quickly turns into a head-busting migraine-take Ron's word for it.

Aside from the few hiccups that aren't uncommon with a build of this magnitude, Ron was meticulous enough to take his time and make sure that each modification in the final stage of the build was done right the first time around. With the deadline of SEMA constantly looming overhead, there was a decent amount of pressure but nothing that the previous builder of a custom '84 Mazda, '76 Bulletside, and a '65 Lincoln Continental couldn't handle. The thing that sets the Frontier apart from Ron's past projects is what the truck was meant to truly represent a full-blown, all-around champ that staked a claim on the scene for the Northwest. With the influx of quality builds constantly being pushed out from SoCal, Texas, and the rest of the country, Ron wanted to put Portland, Oregon, on the map as a serious custom contender. And what other way to accomplish this task then to turn a King Cab into a single cab, which Nissan never produced for this new Frontier pickup line.

Ron also has hopes that with the success of his truck that maybe, just maybe Nissan will decide to bring back the regular cab into rotation in the production cycle. That goal may be a bit of a stretch, but stranger things have happened. For now, he'll just have to be content with the new fanbase he's attracted to the brand and hope to be an inspiration for more groundbreaking builds to come. Congrats on the hard-earned cover, well deserved! For more information on this killer groundbreaking build, check out the Lowdown.